Change is for the Better
by WinterLies
Summary: Two lonely souls are struggling to survive yet neither know how deeply they suffer.Sakura battles with her physical weakness. Gaara is losing himself and letting the demon take control. Can they save each other or will their pride get in the way of love?
1. Prologue

**A/n: Ok my story does not follow the Naruto Anime or Manga series**.** I know that the characters are around 12 and 13 during the Chuunin exam but for my story's purpose they well be 16. I would love reviews and I would really appreciate constructive criticism**. **I would prefer no flames but if you feel my story is that bad, then please feel free to let me know.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

Night had fallen but that did not stop the celebration that took place in the hidden leaf village that continued on well into the morning. The celebration was for the competitors that had won in the third round of the Chuunin exams and would be competing in a tournament within a month's time. It was a fleeting moment of fun and tranquility before the pressure of training set into the minds of the participants. Everyone from young and old seemed to be enjoying the relaxing atmosphere, except for one young girl. She sat smiling sadly as the sounds of laughter and the strong aroma of foods gently wafted up to meet her on a cliff above the town. The girl was currently sitting near the edge of a cliff, watching the stars in the sky, silently mocking her own weakness. _I'm pathetic, I should have trained harder and now because I didn't train like the others, I wasn't strong enough. Why do I have to be so weak,_ wondered Sakura.

"It's not fair," an angry Sakura said out loud. "I'm not good enough and I will never be good enough. I can't compete with Sasuke, Naruto, and Lee. Hell I can't even manage to beat Ino." After her sudden outburst, Sakura grew quiet once more and let her mind delve deeper into her depressing self-hating thoughts. The others didn't understand, she doubted they even knew how deeply this affected her. Sakura was the weak one on her team, if it wasn't for Naruto and Sasuke, she knew she never would have made it this far into the exams. They were the reason she tried so hard, yet no matter how hard she tried it never seemed good enough. _I wasn't even close to their level, why did I even bother, _Sakura thought while letting out a deep sigh.

Thinking of Naruto and Sasuke was bitter sweet. They did not even stay for the festival, as soon as the instructions were given both had taken off to some unknown place to train. Bowing her head, she thought about how they didn't even tell her good-bye. After all the time spent together, she figured that she at least deserved a good-bye. She missed both her team mates very much. Naruto, though extremely annoying at times, could make her laugh and smile no matter what the circumstances. She had known him practically her whole life but the time together in team seven brought out a deeper bond between them that she thought meant something. Apparently their supposed friendship meant more to her than it ever had to him. Now Sasuke was an entirely different story. She had been in love with him for forever. Yet no matter what she tried, he was always cold and distant. Being put on the same team as him was a blessing, now she could finally prove to him she was worth something. In the end though, her love for Sasuke began to diminish as the reality of life set in. Sasuke was never going to love her, at least not the way she wanted him to. Sakura's love for him soon dissolved into respect and friendship. Once again, like Naruto, he didn't seem to hold that in high regard.

The stars twinkled mysteriously overhead as a cool breeze blew her soft pink hair gently across her face. Looking up at the sky, tears running slowly down her porcelain face because now she was unsure of her purpose in life. Being a ninja just didn't make sense right now, life had thrown her an obstacle that she was not sure she could overcome. With a heavy heart, Sakura stood up from the hard ground of the cliff and slowly made her way down until she reached the path that lead to her home. She would think about her future tomorrow, right now all she wanted was sleep.

Pushing his way through the crowded streets of the hidden leaf village, a young man with fiery red hair narrowed his heavily lined eyes in annoyance. _This so called celebration is just a waste of time, _he thought angrily. His head throbbed painfully from all the noise and his extremely short and volatile temper was being pushed to its limit. He had to get away before his anger got the best of him. Finally turning down a deserted dirt road, he made his way to the ominous dark forest that surrounded the village. His thoughts soon turned to the tournament and his training. He had a month starting tomorrow that allowed him to come up with new strategies. A hard look came over his face thinking of his competition. Shikamaru, Shino, Temari, and Kankurou would be more of an annoyance rather than an actual challenge. Now that Neji and Sasuke proved to be formidable enemies, Gaara would enjoy fighting them. The only problem was Naruto. In Gaara's opinion he was a loud mouth idiot but that didn't change the fact that he could fight. He was unsure of what kind of competition Naruto would provide for him. A frustrating problem that he could not solve, and it left Gaara feeling angry and discontent. A feeling that didn't disappear until he reached the haven of the forest.

The forest was quiet and serene with a cool breeze that soothed Gaara's overheated skin and a feeling of calm soon spread through his being. Breathing in the sweet night air, he heard an angry voice coming from the distance. A shock looked came over his face as he wondered why someone would be missing tonight's grand festivities. As silent as predator stalking its prey, he moved quickly through the forest intent on discovering the person disrupting his rarely content mind. Reaching the edge of the forest, he spied a petite girl gazing brokenly toward the heavens.

_ She looks familiar, _Gaara contemplated thoughtfully. _Hmm . . . pink hair that is unusual. _Gaara's eyes widened slightly as the memory of the pink haired girl flashed through his mind. _That is the pathetic fan girl of Uchiha. What is she doing out here?_ Hidden in the shadows, he continued to watch her gazing hopelessly into the night. With her face tilted upwards, the moonlight provided enough light to show her flawless pale skin stained with tears running smoothly down her face. The breeze blew her short silky locks of hair from her face giving her an ethereal beauty that Gaara doubted could ever be surpassed. Gaara was startled by the thought that passed through his mind. _Why in the world would I care how she looked, she is just a weak ninja and to make matters worse she is love with Uchiha,_ Gaara silently berated himself.

Suddenly as the girl stood, Gaara disappeared in a cloud of sand only to reappear on a high branch of a tree that allowed him to be hidden from her view. She seemed disheartened and terribly hopeless. Gaara studied her as she slipped through the trees on her way back to the town. Realizing how much time he wasted watching her, Gaara's suddenly content state of mind was replaced with hostility for a girl he barely remembered. He immediately settled himself on a sturdy branch to begin his meditation. He was determined to forget this night ever happened but for some reason he could not get the odd pink haired girl out of is mind. Gaara was struck with the need to find out why the thought of her refused to leave his mind. _Sakura,_ he mused, _it is oddly fitting._

**A/n: Sorry that it didn't have any dialogue, but I wanted to set up the story first. I promise that the next chapter will have tons of dialogue.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/n: I am sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but it is difficult with school. I will try to update as soon as possible but school has the annoying problem of getting in the way of everything fun. Well any way I hope everyone likes it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

"SAKURA," an angry banshee like voice screamed next to a drowsy tousled-hair girl. Grumbling and pushing her hair out of her face, Sakura glared at her perky blonde-haired friend.

"Ino," whined the sleep deprived Sakura. "Just give me five more minutes and then I can deal with the world falling down at the sound of your voice."

"You are so mean Sakura. I can't believe you have the nerve to complain about me waking you up, when you forgot that we were going shopping today," cried Ino.

"Fine. I'm getting up." Sakura removed the covers and stepped on the cold tile floor, heading for a morning show to help remove the after effects of sleep. Not that the shower would wake her up any more than she already was, Ino had already accomplished that with her annoying screeching.

Twenty minutes later

Sakura stepped into the kitchen feeling refreshed and anxious for a carefree day of shopping with Ino. This is what she needed, a day away from reality where the most difficult life-altering decision would be the amount on the price tag. Sakura braced herself for the lecture about making plans and not sticking to them from Ino, but to her surprise it never came. Ino was standing by the counter, twirling the phone cord in her hand, giggling, and whispering sweet nothings into the phone. _Shikamaru, _Sakura thought absently, while grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator

It was quite a surprising day when Shikamaru asked Ino out. Sakura remembered that day very clearly, Ino had been in such a panic, it was a wonder she could even talk. It had taken Sakura fifteen minutes to calm her down enough to understand what was wrong and another ten minutes to get Ino to talk in complete sentences. After that, life had never been the same.

While Sakura was musing her friend's relationship, Ino finished her conversation and stared at Sakura with an increasing annoyed look on her face. Finally fed up with waiting patiently, Ino stamped her foot and called, "Sakura."

Startled Sakura stammered, "W-what?"

"What is with you today, Sakura? I have never seen you act like this." Ino said, giving her a weird look, before heading for the door. "Well come on Sakura, we have so much to do and so little time."

A half smile on her face; Sakura ran out the door, a devious twinkle in her amazing sea foam green eyes. She decided to figure out just what was making Ino blush red when she was talking on the phone to Shikamaru.

Gaara's deep meditation was interrupted by the dull throbbing of his muscles that were beginning to cramp because of his awkward position. He was still sitting up in the tree that had been his hiding spot from the ninja weakling. _It's not that I'm afraid of her,_ he reasoned. _She is just the annoying clingy type that would have asked a million questions. I just didn't feel like making someone cry today._

Opening his eyes, his sleep deprived mind registered the awful aching of his stiff body and the increasingly sharp pains shooting through his head. The headaches brought upon by his demon was nothing more than a constant dull throbbing that with time, became easy to ignore. The current pain in his head seemed to come from the incessant rumbling of stomach which had been empty for days.

Gaara let out a deep sigh before being transported to the ground with his sand. First thing first was getting food in his stomach before he passed out. Heading through the trees, he came across a stream with what looked like an abundance of fish. Kneeling down by the edge of the stream, Gaara stuck his hands in the crystal cold water for a quick drink. Partially refreshed, he started going over his mental checklist._ I have to start training, I will not lose that pompous, arrogant Uchiha_, Gaara thought viciously. _I must be the winner._ The violent thoughts circulating around Gaara's head seemed to awaken the monster within him. Spasms rocked his body that was now trembling with pain. Clutching his hands to his head, Gaara fought the demon inside trying to take control. The battle was fierce and Gaara almost feared the outcome of the world if his demon took control. After what seemed like hours, Gaara finally regained control over his mind and body. Panting heavily his weary mind completely shut down; his body crashed to the ground in blissful ignorance to the world going on around him.

"I'm so tired and my feet are killing me," complained Sakura after Ino began walking to what looked like a never-ending line of stores. They had been shopping for hours, while Sakura loved shopping, she liked to take a break every now and then. Ino, on the other hand, was like a robot. Once she had something in mind, she never gave up until she had it.

"Sakura, why can't you be more supportive?" Ino looked about ready to scream in frustration. "I have to find the perfect present for Shikamaru."

Heaving a sigh, Sakura offered a compromise, "I understand that the present has to be perfect Ino, but lets go get something to eat and drink . . . ; Ino opened her mouth to protest but Sakura quickly cut her off; . . . and while we do that, I will dedicate myself to coming up with the greatest present Shikamaru has ever seen. How does that sound?"

Ino reluctantly saw logic in Sakura's plan and headed for a quaint restaurant on the opposite side of the road. After being seated and ordering their late lunch, Sakura and Ino got busy figuring out what to get Shikamaru for his birthday.

"Well Ino, you and Shikamaru have only been dating, what a week and a half, I don't think Shikamaru really expects that much."

"I know, but I just really want to make his birthday really special." Ino's eyes began to tear up and she looked ready to break out into sobs. Sakura sensed the coming emotional outburst and hurried to make things better.

"Oh Ino, I didn't mean that, I promise that we will make this birthday one he will never forget. Now do you know what Shikamaru would like for his birthday?"

Ino sniffled before replying, "No, he doesn't tell me anything and I don't know him well enough to pick something out."

Laughing Sakura said, "Oh my goodness, you have known Shikamaru for years. This timid girl is so unbecoming. Where did this fear come from?"

"I may have known him for years but only as a friend. Things are different since we started dating." Ino directed a dark glower toward her friend.

"Oh yes, things change so quickly in a week and a half."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Sakura, love makes people behave differently."

Sakura's eyebrow arched defiantly. "What do you mean I wouldn't understand?"

"Well, this whole thing with Sasuke is not really love. Sakura, dear, Sasuke doesn't even care about you. I think you need to move on and try to find someone that will really like you." Ino said hesitantly.

Sakura's pleasant demeanor changed to barely controlled rage as she processed over Ino's accusations._ How dare she say that about me? _Sakura thought. _She is supposed to be my best friend yet she knows nothing about me._

"For your information Ino, I do not love Sasuke. I haven't for a long time but you would have known that if you paid any attention to me. By the way, my love life is none of your concern. If I wanted your opinion on it, I would have asked." Concluding her speech, Sakura threw some money on the table and stood up. Giving one last intense glare, she walked away leaving Ino to stare at her in complete shock.

Mind numbing pain coursed through Gaara's body as he slowly came into consciousness. Pushing himself up, he tried to remember what had happened before he passed out. Trying to clear his foggy brain only seemed to make his throbbing head hurt more. He crawled awkwardly to the river to wash off the sweat that had accumulated on his face. Groggily, he stood on his feet, swaying slightly with unsteadiness and surveyed the surrounding area. He looked at the green trees and grass to the brown trunks and the scattering of yellow colored flowers. A flash of pink to his far right made him spin and eye the area warily. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Gaara dismissed the thought and reasoned it was a trick of his unfocused mind.

The sweet smell of wild flowers drifted lazily in the air as Sakura walked through the silent forest. After the fight with Ino, Sakura escaped to the sanctuary of the wild. A place Ino would probably never think to look. No one knew of Sakura's fascination with the forest. It wasn't really a secret, more of an untold truth. Everyone at times needed some place to escape to and for Sakura, this was it.

Breathing deeply, she walked in silence content to be alone and think. Looking between the trees, a large object seemed to be moving. It was too far for Sakura to see clearly so she cautiously approached the area. The object suddenly spun and faced her direction. Sakura dived behind the safety of a large oak carefully peeking through some bushes to find out what the object was. Her eyes widen as she realized it was a person with crimson hair. The person was male from his stance but she couldn't quite figure out who it was. He seemed rather familiar. Deciding that a closer look was needed, Sakura edged forward. She creped closer trying to remain undetected but a resounding snap of a branch ruined all her efforts. Sakura stilled, hoping the sound did not alert the person she was attempting to observe.

Gaara heard the snap of a branch and was immediately prepared. Some might call it paranoid but Gaara had always thought of it as a necessary precaution. He quickly sent his sand out to discover the spy before they could escape. A gasp met his ears and a smirk made its way to his face. Walking to where his sand was located, the obvious signs of a struggle could be heard.

" I wonder what I have caught here." Gaara's smirk was now accompanied by a wicked look in his eyes. He was surprised to find the person intruding on his peace was the beautiful pink haired girl that had haunted his mind for hours on end. A dark gleam entered his eye as he thought, _I will have to teach her lesson because this girl obviously does not know her place._

Sakura trapped in the sand, stared with wide eyes with fear at the man in front of her. The passive look on his face did nothing to diminish the dark promise his intense glare gave off. Panting lightly, Sakura struggled to get air to her lungs but the crushing sand limited her ability to breathe. Choking out on a gasp, Sakura whispered the deadly man's name, "Gaara . . . "

**A/n: One last thing, please review and let me know how I am doing. Suggestions are welcome too.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

Hearing Sakura's pleading voice, Gaara drew his sand back to his gourd causing Sakura to collapse on the ground breathing heavily. Gaara watched the girl carefully wondering what her next move would be.

Feeling as if her body had been through an intense training regimen, Sakura struggled to get to her knees. Looking up, Sakura met Gaara's harsh glare unflinchingly but inside she whimpered with fear. Gathering courage, Sakura lifted her chin in a show of defiance and glared spitefully at the man in front of her. His glare softened slightly and he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at his tone and replied, "This is my village, I can be anywhere I want to be. You, on the other hand, should not be allowed to roam around. I thought they would have you locked in a cage somewhere."

As soon as she finished her sentence, Sakura knew she should have kept her mouth shut. One second, Gaara was standing in front of her, next second, he had her pinned up against a tree his face right next to hers. Staring into Gaara's manic eyes, wild with barely controlled rage, Sakura acknowledged that this might be her last moments. Struggling was not an option, since her arms were pinned above her head by Gaara's rough hands. The rest of her body was pressed between the tree and Gaara's rock hard body. In spite of her obvious demise, Sakura still narrowed her eyes in a fierce glower.

Gaara's rage diminished into amusement at the weak ninja's plucky attitude. She was weak but her fearlessness seemed to earn her a bit of respect from the cruel redheaded ninja. When a dangerous smirk dominated Gaara's features, Sakura was suddenly apprehensive about the unpredictable man in front of her.

With wicked intent, Gaara leaned down slightly till his mouth was next to her ear. Sakura feeling his warm breath caress her ear, became disgusted at her body's reaction to this simple manipulation. She froze when she heard the words Gaara whispered into her ear.

"You should be careful of how you speak to your superiors. You never know when they might take advantage of your ignorance."Suddenly his tongue was tracing the outline of her ear before he withdrew all together and left her wide eye and frozen in the middle of the forest.

Baki paced the length of the room, mumbling to himself about a psychotic, unreliable ninja. Kankurou was fiddling with his puppets while Temari stared quietly out the window. They were currently in Gaara's hotel room in the leaf village wondering where he was.

"Temari, do you have any idea where your brother went," asked a frustrated Baki. Sometimes he wondered why he put up with this torture.

"Gaara never tells us anything, he refuses to have anything to do with us," replied Kankurou when Temari never answered. " Most likely he went off on his own to get away from town, too many people."

"We need to train, not play hide and seek with your crazy brother." Baki screamed, finally at his patience's limit. Temari, who had been quiet throughout the conversation, was suddenly on her feet with her fists clenched at her side.

"Shut up Baki, you could care less that Gaara is missing. In fact, you are probably glad because now you don't have to fear for your life. Just leave him alone; Gaara will come back when he wants to."Temari grabbed her fan and walked out the room leaving Baki red-faced with anger. Kankurou just chuckled to himself, he knew better than to piss Temari off having been on the receiving end of her temper many times.

Walking out the door, Temari noticed her younger brother leaning against the wall with his eyes close. His body language screamed that he was distracted but Temari knew Gaara was aware of her presence. Studying his face, she observed that he looked agitated and restless. Gaara was the master of the blank look, as his sister, Temari had some experience with his moods. Right now his mood depicted his desire to hurt or destroy something. While Temari had some understand of his moods, she did not know how to fix them. The easiest solution was to avoid Gaara until he seemed stable. Now it was too late for any relationship with her brother. Gaara despised her and Kankurou. Temari only wished she could go back in time and be there for Gaara when everyone turned on him because of the demon. When she tried to be a sister to him, he just scorned her pathetic attempts.

"Stop staring at me, Temari," Gaara said, snapping Temari out of her internal musings.

"Gaara, what are you doing? Baki is on the verge of a panic attack. I thought something had happened to you." Temari tried to mask the concern in her voice but by the annoyed look on Gaara's face, she had not succeeded.

"Save your concern for someone who cares, Temari," answered Gaara before he pushed off the wall and began to walk away. Just before he reached the top of the stairs, Gaara called out, "Tell Baki to stop acting like a weakling and that I will be on the training field. If he wants to train then I promise not to hold anything back."

Temari heard the murderous intent in Gaara's voice and became very fearful. She had no doubt that if Gaara wanted, he could kill all of them. Deciding the best plan was to let him work off some of his anger. She went to tell Baki to stay away from the training fields for today.

Sakura breathed in and out trying to calm her shaky nerves. The encounter with Gaara had left her confused and frightened. She was shocked at the feelings his touch seemed to invoke in her. Sakura had limited experience with boys due to the fact that she was to busy chasing Sasuke. His rejection and her refusal to move on, had left her with little knowledge of the opposite sex. The incident with Gaara just blew her mind. Sakura just shook her head trying to get the feeling of his mouth against her skin out of her mind. Now was not the time to think of things like that. Determinedly she stepped away from the tree and cautiously made her was out the forest to her home.

Ino was out of her mind with worry. Ever since the argument, she had been searching for Sakura to apologies. Easier said then done, since Sakura was no where to be found. Ino had checked her house, the training fields, random shops, and even the ramen shop that Naruto loved.

Now stepping back into Sakura's home, Ino figured she had to come back sometime, so it was just a matter of waiting. The place looked empty but a shower was running in one of the bathrooms. Since Ino knew, Sakura's parents were hardly home; she knew her friend must have come back during the hours of searching.

Running quickly to the kitchen, she began to prepare a meal. Nothing said sorry as well as a good home cooked meal or at least in boys' mind it did._ Well it couldn't hurt, _Ino thought.

Sakura stepped into her room after an invigorating shower, smelling the most amazing thing coming from the kitchen. _Looks like Ino has come to apologies, _Sakura smiled thoughtfully. Quickly getting dressed, Sakura headed for the kitchen.

"Oh Sakura, I am so very sorry. I don't know what can over me. I just . . . " Ino began into her long apology before Sakura cut her off.

"It's ok Ino. I forgive you. Now if you keep saying sorry, I will take back my forgiveness and hate you forever." Sakura stated smiling mischievously. Ino grinned back before pulling Sakura into a bone crushing hug.

"Ino, I need to breathe."

"Oh sorry, anyway I made a ton of food, so lets eat. We need a girl's night since I screwed up our girl's day out," Ino said blushing slightly.

"All is forgiven, unless you don't tell me what Shikamaru said on the phone earlier." The girls began giggling and gossiping while eating the variety of foods Ino had made. During this time, Sakura successfully pushed all thoughts of Gaara out of her head.

Later that night, as Sakura was getting ready for bed her traitorous mind turned once again to Gaara. He was an enigma' a confusing puzzle with loads of emotional baggage. Naruto had told her the story of Gaara's life and it had made her sick with sympathy for him. Though his attitude today was strange, she had trouble believing his mind was unstable. Gaara had seemed fully in control of himself.

Lying down in bed, Sakura made the resolution to figure out the mystery that was Gaara. That night she dreamed of the redheaded insomniac. Her mind set on the goal of being the first to make him sleep.

The train field, where Gaara was at, was in complete desolation. His head was pounding and the destruction offered temporary solace from his problems. The demon in his mind fueled the rage that Gaara let take control. He was too angry at himself to fight off the demon. _What in the hell was I thinking? _Gaara demolished a tree while working on target practice. _Why do I keep imaging that weakling pink haired ninja? _Another tree bore the brunt of that attack.

Ever since their meeting in the woods, Gaara could not forget about her. On the outside she seemed nothing more than another weak ninja but there was something special about her. It might be her eyes that unusual sea-foam green sparkling with emotion. It could be the odd hair color or the shapely body hidden by her clothes. While all good reasons, Gaara had a feeling it had nothing to do with her physical appearance. There was the defiance in her attitude, the absolute refusal to fear him and back down. Gaara smirked, she was a distraction but possibly a distraction worth exploring.

**A/n: Please, please review. If I do not get any reviews, I just am going to stop this story because I have no idea if it is good or not. So if yall want me to continue please review and let me know.**


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